We’ve heard so much about the United States’ impending “fiscal cliff” in recent weeks, and the harm it could inflict well beyond the American economy. Here at home, there is so much optimism on the outlook for the Philippine economy with its surprising growth performance and a general upswing in business confidence due to perceived…

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration has fallen short of its employment generation target of a million per year, while its public spending ratio continued to slide.

THE PHILIPPINE economy is headed for banner growth this year, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) yesterday claimed, with the stock market set for new highs, interest rates to stay low and inflation to remain benign.

HUNGER AMONG Filipino families fell to a one and a half-year low in December, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in a new report, with an estimated one million households no longer having experienced lacking anything to eat.

Breaking the 6,000 mark for the first time in the 86-year history of stock trading in the country, Philippine shares on Monday closed at a fresh record high on expectations of the continued robust growth of the economy.

MANILA, Philippines – Inflows and outflows stemming from money laundering and terrorist financing activities could result in financial instability, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said as it cited the need for country policies to address these challenges.

MANILA, Philippines – Tonight, as we go to bed, one in 8 people will sleep on an empty stomach. There are about 870 million people in the world who suffer from hunger due to food scarcity based on Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) data.

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly 10,000 barangays in the country have been found to have child laborers in hazardous situation, said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

THE PHILIPPINES must sustain its momentum and build on last year’s strong economic performance to boost its credit standing, Fitch Ratings yesterday said.

Senate blue ribbon chairman Teofisto Guingona III said the perception that Filipino banks have been accommodating deposits from illegal transactions “affect investors’ perception on whether or not we have a safe banking system.

HUNGER AMONG Filipino families fell to a one and a half-year low in December, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in a new report, with an estimated one million households no longer having experienced lacking anything to eat.

Breaking the 6,000 mark for the first time in the 86-year history of stock trading in the country, Philippine shares on Monday closed at a fresh record high on expectations of the continued robust growth of the economy. Traders noted that foreign investors were heavy buyers during the morning and afternoon sessions.

The number of unemployed will continue to increase this year if growth will not exceed seven percent according to Edgardo Lacson, president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP).

ADDITIONAL domestic regulatory adjustments may be needed in the near term should the US Federal Reserve discontinue the third phase of its growth-boosting asset-purchase program, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said on Sunday.

MANILA, Philippines—The provincial government of Northern Samar has become the first provincial government unit in the country to enact a local anti-child labor ordinance, complete with an initial P1-million funding for its implementation, according to the Department of Labor and Employment.

THE STRENGTHENING Philippine peso has dealt a serious blow to the local outsourcing sector, eroding the competitiveness of the industry, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) said in a statement yesterday. BPA/P cited a survey of 59 executives conducted from Dec. 18-21, in which almost half of respondents claimed that the strong currency…

The Department of Labor and Employment has earmarked P2.97 billion of its P8.12-billion budget for 2013 to skills training and retraining programs, to prepare the workforce for the ASEAN’s integration into a single market in 2015.

LABOR RELATIONS remain “peaceful” and “stable” as only three strikes occurred in 2012, the National Conciliation and Meditation Board (NCMB) said in a statement yesterday.

Which is more effective in improving life for women: economic development or specific programs aimed at increasing equality? While the developed world discusses the glass ceiling, the end of men and whether women can really ever have it all, activists in developing countries tend to focus on more basic issues like combating violence against women…

The President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino has signed a new human rights law on the abduction of individuals by state officials. It is the first major human rights legislation passed by Mr Aquino, who came to power three years ago promising to address such crimes.

The Philippines’ shopping mall chains have virtually taken over the provinces, branching toward every urbanizing town or city to offer products that provincial customers used to buy only from Metro Manila stores.

MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of jobs await Filipinos this Christmas season, the Department of Labor and Employment announced Thursday.

THE JOBLESS RATE eased to 6.8% in October from July’s 7.0% but the ranks of the unemployed remained the same, which analysts described as a failure of economic growth to translate to more jobs.

Technical and vocational education training (TVET) must be grounded in the Philippines’ sustainable development framework for it to truly contribute to poverty reduction in the country, a book published by the Asian Development Bank said.

MANILA, Philippines – Safety in the operations of renewable energy (RE) projects should be a priority of the private sector, the Department of Energy (DOE) said.

ABU DHABI // Recruitment agencies who provide Filipino domestic staff to employers for less than the minimum wage of US$400 (Dh1,470) a month face being suspended or blacklisted.

MANILA, Philippines – A guidebook for public prosecutors handling cases of human rights violations has been launched. It is a project of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the University of the Philippines Law Center’s Institute for the Administration of Justice (UP-IAJ).

The Philippine population will grow by 85 percent in the next six decades, according to a forecast of a United Kingdom-based international accounting and finance firm.

(CNN) — Lawmakers on Monday approved legislation calling for government-funded contraception and sex education classes in the Philippines, a first in the heavily Catholic nation.

GENEVA – A sluggish global economy hit world wage growth hard last year, taking an especially harsh toll on workers in developed countries, who saw their salaries shrink, the International Labour Organization said Friday.